This month’s Asian-Counsel marks our South Korea focus issue, providing an overview of the latest developments on Korea’s corporate legal scene by the nation’s leading firms. Meanwhile, our feature story discusses how the current global economy will inspire and impact emerging trends in the nation’s legal market in the year ahead.

In the Asian M&A Special Report, the complex, multi-directional transactions which have marked the region of late are examined in detail. The simple days of inbound Western investment are clearly a thing of the past.

Our Special Report on Initial Public Offerings discusses where remaining investor sentiment is heading in the region, and why some industries are likely to forge ahead with listings this year despite market uncertainties. With supplemental reports on the trends and developments in China, Japan and Korea.

Off the back of an extraordinary year of growth, modest economic expectations in the year to come are the current trend. Asian-Counsel provides a regional overview in addition to special features on Islamic finance in Japan, recent developments in Malaysian securities law and regulations and Islamic banking and finance regulations in the United Arab Emirates.

Asian-Counsel investigates how liberalisation has influenced the legal systems of Japan and South Korea and compares how each nation has progressed within a globalised market economy. We also get timely updates on investment, litigation, arbitration and tax issues in the two countries by experts on the ground.

Asian-Counsel takes a look at the state of arbitration in various jurisdictions across the region, and uncovers the lofty aims of several arbitration centres.